It may take police officers up to 15 minutes to arrive at an “active shooter” scene, so a school superintendent has trained and equipped nearly 20 members of the school’s teaching and staff to deal with the situation on their own.
He found that parents quite well received the notion.
After the horrible shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School 10 years ago, the superintendent of Ohio’s Benjamin Logan Local School District, John Scheu, reportedly launched a similar program at the adjacent Sidney City Schools.
Scheu describes his work with the county sheriff to improve school safety by installing surveillance cameras and new locks.
He said after Sandy Hook, they devised a strategy that included armed personnel trained by the sheriff’s department. A member of the armed faculty or staff would be there in seconds, but it could take deputies up to 15 minutes to arrive.
“Time is of the essence, “ he said.
Benjamin Logan’s principal said the policy they came up with is to train volunteers — principals, custodians, secretaries, and teachers — to conceal carry or have an allocated firearm that is properly maintained and available to them in the event of an active shooter.
According to him, the overwhelming support the team has received from parents indicates that the community favors having a qualified, trained, armed team to help resource officers and the police combat an active shooter.
The children in our schools are a “valued asset” that must be protected, says Meg Kilgannon, senior fellow for Education Studies at the Family Research Council.
Simply establishing that we are not a soft target is all it takes,” Scheu said.
With 33 states already permitting faculty to carry weapons on campus legally, the study showed that more and more educational institutions are considering implementing similar programs.
When seconds count, police will be there in minutes.
